This essay explores the curator’s role in crafting museum narratives across three broad levels: theory, tools, and specific applications. Continue reading
Author Archives: Ryan
Collections Project
For this assignment, I processed a small archival collection at Syracuse University’s Special Collections Research Center. I also created an EAD Finding Aid for collection, which I encoded by hand in a text editor using an XML template and XSL/CSS stylesheets provided by Michele Combs.
Archives Blog Report
Survey of posts relating to born-digital materials on the SAA Directors’ Off the Record blog.
Continue reading
Deaccessioning
A group presentation I gave on deaccessioning considerations in a museum setting; I was responsible for presenting on the first five slides.
Onondaga Community College – Coulter Library
Onondaga Community College – Coulter Library
Copyright and Digitization Intern (December 2014 – March 2015)
- Independently researched the copyright status and fair use allowances for a collection of sound recordings on long playing vinyl records
- Digitized one hundred recordings using Audacity software and recorded technical and descriptive metadata
- Developed a detailed workflow and documentation for the project
My Workstation
EAD Finding Aid
For this assignment, I encoded an EAD finding aid for a hypothetical collection using a web template, which I cleaned up in Oxygen XML Editor.
Digital Special Collections
An exploration of the impact of digital special collections, with recommendations for best practices in the following areas: selection of materials, content structure, partnerships, usage data, and the open source sharing of tools.
Information Retrieval System Analysis
An analysis of the Internet Archive’s user experience, using the FRBR User Tasks as a framework.
Bibliographic Analysis of Dictionarium Polygraphicum
Working with a partner, I performed a detailed bibliographic analysis of Syracuse University’s copy of Dictionarium Polygraphicum, outlining the history and structure of the monograph.
Syracuse University – Belfer Audio Archive
Syracuse University – Belfer Audio Archive
Archivist Intern (May 2014 – August 2014)
- Processed, rehoused, and cared for audio collection materials in a major repository of recorded sound that includes Edison cylinders, 78rpm records, and a number of other media formats
- Handled inventories for potential donations, making recommendations based on existing collections and Belfer acquisition goals
- Processed patron requests; entered descriptive and technical metadata related to the digital surrogate listening copies; photography of discs and cylinders
- Developed a best practices guide for photographing cylinders
- Performed basic cataloging and rehousing for items in the Morton J. Savada Collection, which includes over 200,000 items.
- Reevaluated and revised workflows and local best practices
Pictures of my solution for photographing cylinder recordings:
